Josiah Mwangi Ateka
School of Economics , Kenyatta University
November 2012

1.0 BackgroundPoverty reduction and environmental conservation represent two of the main global challenges. The two targets constitute part of the eight Global Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Arising from the thinking that Environmental degradation and poverty reinforce each other since the poor are both agents and victims of environmental destruction; the poverty-environment hypothesis has become a major concern of international development agencies and policy makers. It is often argued that the poor are often the biggest victims of environmental destruction since they depend heavily on the resources provided by natural environment and therefore are less able to escape the effects of environmental damage. According to the UNDP report of 1998, environmental damage almost always hits those living in poverty the hardest. The implication is that there are indeed strong links between the environment and poverty. The important question however is not whether the two should be linked, but rather how to link them. Based on theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence, this paper attempts to explore how poverty and environment are linked within the context of poor developing countries. The thinking is that the heavy reliance on the environment by the poor for their livelihoods creates complex, dynamic interactions and relationships between environmental conditions, people’s access to and control over environmental resources, and poverty. Understanding the nature of these relationships is a crucial for policy formulation and the practice and execution of poverty reduction and environmental management strategies (Kimalu, et. al. 2001). Within the Kenyan context, the government recognizes that “the full integration of environmental concerns in development planning at all levels of decision making remains a challenge to the country. 1.2 Definitions

Poverty is multidimensional and complex in nature and manifests itself in various forms making its definition difficult. Perceived differently by different people, some limit the term to mean a lack of material well-being and others arguing that lack of things like freedom, spiritual well-being, civil rights and nutrition must also contribute to the definition of poverty. Though often defined in absolute or relative terms for purposes of comparing groups, poor people also do have their own definitions that arise from their own perceptions. Absolute Poverty is defined in terms of the requirements considered adequate to satisfy minimum basic needs, and the absolute poor have no means to meet these needs. Relative poverty however is used to refer to a poverty line, which is Proportional to the mean or median income or expenditure, for instance the use of percentile cut-offs to define relative poverty line at, say, the bottom 20 percent of individuals in the distribution of income or expenditure (Mariara & Ndeng’e , 2004).

In Kenya, the definition of poverty is largely informed by the qualitative approach based on various Welfare Monitoring Surveys (WMS). WMS studies (1992, 1994, and 1997) were national surveys for measuring the living standards of the Kenyan people. The WMS adopted the material well-being perception of poverty in which the poor are defined as those members of society who are unable to afford minimum basic human needs, comprised of food and non-food items. The PRSP of 2002 adopted the quantitative measures of poverty based on the 1997welfare survey (WMS III) data. Using the 1997 WMS, the PRSP recognized that poverty is multi-dimensional and defined it to include inadequacy of income and deprivation of basic needs and rights, and lack of access to productive assets as well as to social infrastructure and markets. The WMS III estimated the absolute poverty line at Kshs 1,239 per person per month...

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...﻿Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live.
For much of history, poverty was considered largely unavoidable as traditional modes of production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of living. After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made production goods increasingly less expensive and more accessible. Of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, to provide enough yield to feed the population. The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, tax avoidance, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms, and providing financial services.
Poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank estimated 1.29 billion people were living in absolute poverty in 2008. Of these,...

...human social groups. The author explored four principles: authority, equality, liberty, and utility. Individuals from social groups that subscribe to the principle of equality, utility, and liberty mention human activity as the lead-cause of climate change. These three principles allow independent thinking or perspectives, unlike social groups with authority-based ideologies in which individuals subscribe to the general perspective of the group. From the analysis of Kahan et al.’s data, individuals from groups that subscribe to the principle of authority believe that the natural variation is the main cause. This variation is important in that it indicates the role of culture as the secondary factor in the variation in views about the environment. The cultural theory holds that people can be expected to form perceptions of the risks of climate change that indicate and reinforce the values that they share with others. The public disagreement on climate change comes from the basic conflict between opposing social groups, whose cultural outlook expose its members to form varying perceptions of environmental and technological risks, in general.
Figure 1. Causes of Climate Change by Principle of Social Organization
I draw the understanding of opposing public opinions about climate change from synthesis of the science comprehension and cultural cognition theses. In this respect, a considerable proportion of the public is observed as lacking the...

...Introduction Poverty is when someone is not able to afford to buy things most people consider essential or to participate in activities which, similarly are thought to be a minimum requirement of everyday life (Reporting poverty in UK p15).
Absolute poverty is a term used in various different ways to denote a poverty level that does not change over time in terms of living standards that it refers to it stays the same even if society is becoming more prosperous. Absolute poverty line and people below this line lack food, shelter, warmth or clothing (Reporting poverty in the UK p73). Most people in the UK live in relevant poverty Peter Townsend a leading authority on UK poverty defines it as when someone’s “resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are in effect excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities” (Reporting poverty in the UK p 15)....

...﻿http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Poverty-Structuralism-Structuralist-Foundations/dp/0582066964
http://www.sociology.org.uk/as4p4a.pdf
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/sociology/poverty/revise-it/definitions-of-poverty
‘Townsend, P. (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom, London, Allen Lane and Penguin Books’
http://www.poverty.ac.uk/free-resources-books/poverty-united-kingdom
http://www.poverty.org.uk/summary/social%20exclusion.shtml
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/21/poverty_what_poverty/?page=2
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319280/Fuel_Poverty_Report_Final.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/11/low-paid-workers-poverty-trap-report
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/04/food-bank-britain-can-mps-agree-causes-uk-poverty
http://ukfeminista.org.uk/take-action/facts-and-statistics-on-gender-inequality/#link2
http://www.poverty.org.uk/09/index.shtml
http://www.eapn.eu/en/what-is-poverty/how-is-poverty-measured
http://www.poverty.ac.uk/definitions-poverty/income-threshold-approach
Feminists claim there are many factors that place women at higher risk of poverty and inequality. They feel that women are disadvantaged in the labour market and are seen as secondary workers. In their opinion, the country must provide free childcare in order for women to freely compete...

...povertyPoverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.[1] Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live.[2][3]
For much of history,poverty was considered largely unavoidable as traditional modes of production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of living.[1][4] After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made wealth increasingly more inexpensive and accessible. Of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, in order to provide enough yield to feed the population.[5] The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, tax avoidance, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms, and providing financial services.
Poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank estimated 1.29 billion people were living in absolute...

...Measuring Poverty.
* No single definition of poverty
* The study and interpretation of poverty isn't a simple task, as there are as many ways of measuring poverty as there are ways of defining it
* We need to look at political and moral dimensions when defining poverty
* Social construct and can be defined by absolute or relative
Subjective poverty – is the result of people’s views, perceptions, or feelings about their situation or well-being.
Objective poverty - refers to objective aspects of one’s well-being, most often measured in terms of available resources, such as income and consumption. Often use absolute and relative methods of measuring poverty.
Absolute – refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries. America
* Lack of resources necessary for survival
* Usually a global measurement of poverty not seen as useful when looking at the UK anymore.
* Households Budget standards
* Based on Rowntrees basket of goods.
* Bradshaw socially defined needs
* Experts determine elements of household needs.
* Seen as lacking absolute basics of life and lacking what is required for physical health.
* Measure the cost involved in purchasing essential goods and services allowing a person to reach min levels of satisfaction of basic needs
* - 1901 rowntree developed...

...INTRODUCTION OF POVERTY
What real meaning of Poverty?
Poverty in simple word means is the lack of human needs, like food, water, air, and all other basic needs.
Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life
—World Bank
Though INDIA boosts of a high economic rate it is shameful that most of the people in
REASONS
TRRRRR
INDIA are under poverty as INDIA'S population is estimated to be more than 1 billion out of them
r
300-400 million peoples are under poverty not even having a single meal for one d
y. 1. over population
India is seventh largest country in the world according to the area but 2nd largest in the population and there is not a big difference of population in first China and second India.
Due to a very big amount of population we are facing the scarcity of resources and we cannot feed population in a proper way. The demand of goods is always greater then the availability or production in our country.
2. Low production...

...Poverty
17
Vital Statistics • • • • • • •
“I call on the international community at the highest level … to adopt the target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, and so lifting more than 1 billion people out of it, by 2015.” Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the Millenium Report
More than 2.8 billion people, close to half the world's population, live on less than the equivalent of $2/day. More than 1.2 billion people, or about 20 per cent of the world population, live on less than the equivalent of $1/day. South Asia has the largest number of poor people (522 million of whom live on less than the equivalent of $1/day). Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of people who are poor, with poverty affecting 46.3 per cent or close to half of the regions' population. Nearly 1 billion people are illiterate; more than 1 billion people do not have access to safe water; some 840 million people go hungry or face food insecurity; about one-third of all children under five suffer from malnutrition. The estimated cost of providing universal access to basic social services and transfers to alleviate income poverty is $80 billion, which is less than 0.5 per cent of global income. The top fifth (20 per cent) of the world’s people who live in the highest income countries have access to 86 per cent of world gross domestic product (GDP). The bottom fifth, in the poorest countries, has about one per cent....

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